Hairy Bikers/Dieters - calorie allowance

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  • AnneC77
    AnneC77 Posts: 284
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    I am so glad that I saw this cause I literally just asked my friends. 1200 cals a day seems really low and so now I am wondering if I should put my cals to 1200, instead of the 1600 MFP says. Help!


    Oh I love The Hairy Bikers and their book is awesome! Spanish Chicken = OMG! Have tried a few of their recipes and no complaints yet!

    As for the comment about doing this for money, mmm maybe but so what. If they help people to get up and look at themselves, then it is all worth it. From what I heard, they wanted to lose weight and were then approached to do this. I guess noone will ever know for sure but like I said, does it really matter?
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    I'm guessing that this harsh calorie allowance was for rapid and quick weight loss for the sake of time, as this is a TV show and they need to show results fast.

    I would be absolutely STUNNED if either of these 2 remotely maintain the weight they lose.
  • juncture
    juncture Posts: 129 Member
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    I enjoyed the series but yes I was thinking that the 1200 calories a day was very low, however you have to remember that they were under medical supervision (they saw a doctor and a dietitian amongst possibly other medical professionals) which most of us aren't.


    I haven't got round to checking out their recipes but will have to give them a try sometime :)
  • kazhowe
    kazhowe Posts: 340 Member
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    bump
  • SairahRose
    SairahRose Posts: 412 Member
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    I'd seriously start at 1200 until you plateau, or don't see any losses. Then up the cals by 100/150 a week until you see the results that work for you.. until the next plateau.
    If you end up still losing on 2100.. then good for you :D
  • Lionidle
    Lionidle Posts: 21
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    I bought the book yesterday after watching the show. The show inspired me, especially the need for exercise.
  • Lionidle
    Lionidle Posts: 21
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    Also going to stick with MFP recommendations for a few weeks and then try the 1200 calorie option. I did the Cambridge diet before and was on 500 calories a day and although i starved quite a bit i did end up losing 3 stone.aaaaaaand put it back on again.
  • NyimaR
    NyimaR Posts: 108 Member
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    Also going to stick with MFP recommendations for a few weeks and then try the 1200 calorie option. I did the Cambridge diet before and was on 500 calories a day and although i starved quite a bit i did end up losing 3 stone.aaaaaaand put it back on again.

    If the MFP reccomendations are working for you over the next few weeks I'd suggest sticking with them rather than dropping them any lower. If it ain't broke...:smile:
  • chestnutbrown
    chestnutbrown Posts: 53
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    "I'd seriously start at 1200 until you plateau, or don't see any losses. Then up the cals by 100/150 a week until you see the results that work for you.. until the next plateau.
    If you end up still losing on 2100.. then good for you :D"


    Thanks SairahRose, I might try it, but I think I'd struggle to stick to it. When I first joined MFP, I used their recommendations which put my goal at about 1400 cals per day and I really struggled with that one!

    I am cutting down my portion sizes and working hard on making everything low fat, but it's hard, I get so hungry! Plus emotional/boredom eating (Paul McKenna I can make you thin is helping with that though) I eat pretty healthily (always room for improvement though!), so I guess I just need to gradually make the amounts smaller and smaller (how depressing - I love food!). Ho hum, no pain no gain!

    I'm losing about 1lb a week at the moment as long as I stick to it fairly well, so maybe I could speed that up a bit with a few more improvements. I don't do much exercise at present and am restricted with what I can do due to an ankle injury, but I'm looking at ways to improve that too!
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,590 Member
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    I've watched the series and bought the book... and am working my way through the recipes, which sound and so far taste really good.

    1200 does sound rather low for men of their size, but they were doing it with advice from professionals who had assessed them individually, rather than MFP which offers generic weight loss advice. There was a great emphasis on the health aspect of weight loss (both mental and physical) as well as the balance of the meals, such as bulking recipes up with veg rather than eating too many carbs. If you have the opportunity to see either your GP, or preferably nutritionist, I'm sure they'll happily advise you on the numbers you need on a daily basis.

    As for the effect on other family members, I made the masala chicken and MrWW promptly read the book - and that's something that would NEVER have happened with a 'diet' book before. Gets a thumbs up from me :wink:
  • Caitlinhappymeal
    Caitlinhappymeal Posts: 185 Member
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    I'm still losing on nearly 2000 cals a day and I'm at target. ****e for the masses on BBC me thinks :tongue:
  • lynz4589
    lynz4589 Posts: 389 Member
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    So just went to get my copy as planned at lunch and not only are my store sold out but aparently they've had to go to reprint! Can only see positive coming from this if its making so many people make better food choices!!
  • chestnutbrown
    chestnutbrown Posts: 53
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    So just went to get my copy as planned at lunch and not only are my store sold out but aparently they've had to go to reprint! Can only see positive coming from this if its making so many people make better food choices!!

    That's really good (although not good for you cos you didn't get your book!). Calorie allowances aside, any cookbook/programme etc that can inspire people to eat more healthily has got to be good!
  • southseabelle
    southseabelle Posts: 5
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    I have just ordered the book. I have been yo yoing fora while now. So hopefully this will help put me back ontrack
  • fatboy_no8
    fatboy_no8 Posts: 6
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    I have to say that reading the comments on this thread I'm caught somewhere between the two sides of the argument.

    I have been sticking to the Hairy Bikers' diet for five weeks now and......I've lost over two stone! So, it does work and for me (starting from pretty muchan identical position as Si King) it is having fairly speedy results.

    Is it sustainable? No absolutely not! However, let's be honest here - if I had stuck to 2500 calories a day (so, two portions of everything!) I would lose weight. Do I feel hungry? Occasionally, so I have apples, veg and the like to hand. That said, once the weight comes down I now hve a better understanding of BMR than ever before so I am hoping that with a ertain degree of self control (and continuing not being lazy with food!) I'm hoping that the weight will stay off.

    Biggest thing I've given up? Booze - same as the Bikers, except I haven't fallen off the wagon yet.

    Yes they've made a good deal of money from the series and book - and I don't begrudge them it. They have inspired me to get the weight off and the food is great.

    It might not be for you but where I am it's brill!
  • littlecar1
    littlecar1 Posts: 36 Member
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    I loved this programme - I've never watched one of their series before.

    At the end of the day they were doing it for a TV show, so they had an added incentive to lose as much as possible to make it look good and sell more books.

    Many of the ideas that they had were common sense, things like cutting out the booze to cut calories, exercising etc. It was a very down to earth and motivational programme & has definitely had a positive effect on me & kick starting me back into being on the wagon.

    For any one thinking about the cool book I can thoroughly recommend it (it is available on Kindle for those who can't get it in shops).
  • lilmissymoo90
    lilmissymoo90 Posts: 324 Member
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    i love this show!!

    aparently the bigger you are the less calories you can et safely .. i dunno it thats true but i have never seen a fat person die of starvation =/

    also the food they make is awesome wana try some of the recipes =D
  • MrsDangermouse
    MrsDangermouse Posts: 6 Member
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    This show was actually the very reason I started losing weight again...I've known for a while that I needed to do something and I know exactly how to do it - the only thing lacking was motivation. I've started dieting numerous times over the past couple of years but I found that I was doing it because I thought I ought to, not because I really wanted to...and of course I ended up giving up. Hubby and I watched the Hairy Dieters because we like all their shows, but when the series finished I turned around said to my husband "this is it, I'm doing it" - for the first time in several years I felt that this was something I WANTED to do.

    But even better....hubby is now also paying attention to his weight. At 15 1/2 stone he knew he was overweight but didn't see himself as "fat" but the series really made him sit up and think. He commented a number of times on how they were similar weight/height as him, he was amazed at the body fat analysis, and as hubby is also on blood pressure medication I think the episode when Si was told he might be able to come off his BP meds because he lost weight really made hubby take notice.

    Basically they managed to get hubby to understand and (more importantly!) accept what I've been telling him for years ;-) And for that reason alone I'm very glad we watched the show.
  • Dormouse85
    Dormouse85 Posts: 49
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    I too liked what I saw of the show (last two episodes) and have ordered the book - due to arrive next week. OK, they did it for money - well, after all, it IS their job! I also wonder if they will stick to the weight loss or whether it will creep back on, because they were talking about "when this diet is finished..."

    BUT what impressed me most is their genuine surprise when they saw how much weight they had lost represented by packs of lard - & they struggled to lift it! THAT is what I think will make a difference, if they can remember that. I think that until you realise that losing "only one pound a week" is like losing two packs of butter you can get discouraged by small losses. That is what I'm going to try to do for myself - think of my weight loss in fewer packs of lard smeared around my body!!! (which is not an image I want to think about for very long!!!)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Prof Taylor started them at 1300 calories then dropped to 1200 later as they lost weight. They had a lot to lose ie ample fat reserves to fuel their deficit. Roy Taylor Is :-

    Professor of Medicine and Metabolism, University of Newcastle
    Honorary Consultant Physician, Newcastle Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

    and another lady professional was also involved in the programme supervising their intake. Prof Taylor also used a 600 calorie diet to reverse Type II diabetes. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/diet-reverses-type-2-diabetes

    Given the choice of advice between people like this, who actually know what they're talking about, and a lay chorus on an internet forum singing "don't eat below your BMR" it wouldn't take me long to decide which to follow.

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